


Good Morning, Sweet Dreams

by TabithaJean



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Early MSR, Episode: s07e12 X-Cops, Fluff, Sleepy Scully, post-episode, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26768137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TabithaJean/pseuds/TabithaJean
Summary: After chasing monsters in the dark all night, Mulder and Scully return to their motel room. Short post-episode for X-Cops to bring some softness to the world.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 1
Kudos: 56





	Good Morning, Sweet Dreams

It’s not as if they didn’t share a life before. They have a shorthand developed from years of delayed flights, late night diners, abrupt changes in schedule and weekends nulled by the demands of the job.

But he hadn’t expected the joy of seeing her material life spill into his. The way his sparse toiletries are crowded off the shelf by her multitudes. The thrill that grips his chest every time he sees her blouse thrown carelessly over the arm of his chair, or her heels discarded by the door. When traveling, this joy is distilled down into a gratitude which is so bright that he can’t directly face it. He had genuinely thought he was happy before, that his work was enough, but to see soft Saturday Scully, to wake up with her, grumpy and slow at 6am on a Wednesday, is to see the green buds of daffodils pushing themselves up through the earth after a long Winter.

Scully has nodded off beside him. The X-File had disappeared with the sunrise, taking both the terrors of the night and the camera crew with it. All that remained was stale, sweaty lethargy from being awake for twenty-four hours.

Half-dressed, she had only meant to sit down for a minute. She wanted to shower, to change into sweats and head down the hall to her officially allocated room to get fresh clothes from her suitcase. Trying to keep up appearances to the motel staff saw her messing up the bedsheets and towels each day, as if they would be offended that she spent every night in his room. _I don’t know why,_ she had said when asked, _I just feel bad that they have to change sheets that haven’t even been slept in. Plus, I don’t like the idea of people making assumptions._ He didn’t have the heart to remind her that assumptions had been made since March 1993.

Her chin relaxes against her neck, and her slight double chin drives him mad. He wants to lick it. He wants to wake her up with his mouth and make her tremble, but instead he nuzzles her nose with his. An Eskimo kiss, he remembers his mother telling him.

‘Mmmh,’ she mumbles, straightening up. ‘I’m awake, I’m awake.’

‘Looks like it,’ he smiles. ‘Didn’t you want to shower? Get those sheets all good and fake slept in?’

‘Yep,’ she murmurs, her eyes closed still. ‘I’m gonna do that. I’m getting up. Right now.’

‘You don’t have to, Scully,’ he tells her softly. ‘You don’t have to move.’

‘Mmmh,’ she mumbles again, sighing deeply. Presently her head rests against his shoulder. He sits still for a few minutes, relishing the weight of her. This is not new for Scully, and though she is still his exhausted work partner, falling asleep as and when she needs, the change in their personal context means he can be there in ways which were previously out of bounds. He can love her. 

He lifts his arm and wraps her towards him, sliding down the bed. Momentum carries her with him, and she settles on his arm, her slack fingers curled on his chest. Their flight back to DC is tomorrow. Their report isn’t due until next week. They have a whole day to just be. Daylight spills through the lightweight curtains, cloaking the room in gold. There is peace in knowing the rest of the city is only just waking up. Mulder pulls the covers over them both. Scully stays still and heavy.

‘Don’t have nightmares, Scully,’ he whispers, kissing the top of her head. ‘Sweet dreams.’


End file.
